Recently two new stories that under normal circumstances would have been ignored by the media became prime time news and the subject of many radio talk shows.  The first story involved a politician calling another politician a liar. That alone is about as newsworthy as the morning sunrise. It happens every day in every country. The second story involved a rapper expressing anger that a friend of his did not win at a music award ceremony.  Rap music is (generally) more about expressing anger than it is about harmony and melody, so to hear that a rapper is angry is as about as surprising as hearing that Jefferson County is broke. So why are these worthy of headlines?

Both occurred on national television in disrespectful and uncivil ways.  An elected U.S. Representative interrupted President Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress to accuse the President of lying. The rapper stormed the stage at a music award ceremony to express his views on who he wanted to win the award.  Both were immature temper outbursts and violated civil discourse.

And what is so bad about that?  While civility is often perceived as being a wimpy virtue it is both a character and a democracy issue.

While civility is defined in several ways, it is described as “treating positions, people and systems with the respect due them.”  We are taught by Scripture and by common sense to respect positions of National leadership.  The South Carolinian may or may not have been accurate in his evaluation of the President Obama’s veracity, but in that setting Rep. Wilson was expressing contempt for office.  The rapper whose rhythmic anger has made him millions showed disdain for the winner rather than disagreement with how she was chosen. 

The only way a democratic society can function is when dialogue and public discourse can occur.  Loud protests, strong objections, sarcasm and raised voices all have their places in democracy. But when such actions are the result of uncontrolled anger, they support a mad “mobocracy” rather than a majority democracy.

Thankfully, Representative Joe Wilson and Kanye West have apologized, but this issue is larger than these two uncivil men whose good fortune apparently surpasses their maturity.  Both men apologized for not being able to control their emotions and by doing so acknowledged it was a character issue.

We are moving in the direction of becoming a society of boorish bullies.  Increasingly the person with the loudest voice and the strongest microphone is the only one heard.  Even the recent Health Care town hall meetings moved from being examples of democracy in action to Jerry Springer-like events in which voters who cannot control their emotions yell at politicians who cannot control spending or emotions.

Civility begins with self-control and that is a character issue.  

Apologies from Joe and Kanye’s public relations firms will not resolve this issue.  Neither will a partisan congressional resolution passed by folks publically wringing their hands and privately gleefully winking at each other’s fix it. It begins when all of us, not just politicians and rappers, learn how to control our emotions and to express disagreement and disapproval in an appropriate manner.  Elected officials and popular entertainers don’t set the example; they follow our example.  Ultimately, character is the result of allowing the fruit of the Spirit of God to be present in our lives.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (Gal. 5:25-26)

Control your emotions today and you will take a major step down the character path and you will help others do so as well.
Gary Fenton
www.Characterpath.com